


i hope that i'm not asking too much (just wanna be loved by you)

by nicholascox



Category: Fence (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, and jesse, and the parents - Freeform, ft the team, maybe light angst, more tags may be added, pining nicholas, pining seiji but he doesn't know it yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28847727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicholascox/pseuds/nicholascox
Summary: Seiji tries to live up to the title of best friend giving Nicholas the best birthday present ever, and Nicholas likes it a little to much.
Relationships: Nicholas Cox & Seiji Katayama, Nicholas Cox/Seiji Katayama
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey!
> 
> Hope you enjoy reading this!  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated <3
> 
> Ps: BIG thank you to my beta juliana

Nichola’s birthday was in two days, and Seiji had everything planned. 

He, like the best friend he was, had been planning it for weeks. It was probably the best idea he had ever since he could remember. 

It has been six months since Seiji joined Kings Row’s fencing team, and he could admit that he was more happy than ever in his life. He felt cared for there. He had friends there, teammates who looked after him. And he had Nicholas.

Nicholas, his best friend.

The first time Nick had brought up the possibility of being best friends, he had denied it. He couldn’t understand why Nicholas wanted to call him his best friend when he wasn’t the best in it, far from that. He hadn’t had a friend in his entire life, he was definitely not the best at it. It didn’t make sense, he needed more practice. 

So Seiji didn’t accept it. But, miraculously Nick said something that made sense. 

They were laying in their own bed after an afternoon of practice. Seiji was reading a book when Nicholas cleared his throat.

“Seiji,” he started, looking at him through the few new inches he had moved of the duck curtain a few days before, “I know you said we couldn’t be best friends because we weren’t the best, but-”

“No,” Seji cut him, without stopping looking at the pages, “I said we couldn’t be best friends because I’m not good at it.”

“Okay, that you weren’t the best in being friends,” Nicholas said rolling his eyes, “but what if we decided to call ourselves that, and we try to make it true every day?”

Seiji paused and looked back at him. Suddenly what he said made a lot of sense. If he had the pressure to live up to that title, he was going to succeed, just like he does when he is fencing. “Okay, Nicholas” he says, “I must say that it’s a great idea, I’m really surprised it came from you.”

Rolling his eyes and with a smile on his face Nick says, “Whatever you say, best friend.”

Since then, he has tried really hard to make the statement true. From sitting always in the place Nick had saved for him to late night chats. From discussing his books Nicholas was reading to helping him improve his fencing technique. 

And Nicholas didn’t stay far behind, always helping him understand what their teammates were talking about. Always trying to include Seiji in the conversations. Always calling him out when he was being accidentally mean.

It was still a mystery to him why he cared and liked him so much. They were clearly complete opposites. To whoever watched from the outside, Nicholas was Seiji’s worst nightmare. 

And, maybe, at the start it was like that but, now that he knew him, he could say that Nicholas Cox was his favorite person in the whole world.

So he decided he deserved the best of the best for his birthday, and Seiji was going to give it to him. 

It had been difficult to think of something when he had realized Nick’s birthday was less than two months away

They were on the salle practicing when he found out. Eugene was asking them their birthdates to make a calendar with all their birthdays as a part of the bonding exercises the Coach had insisted on doing. It had alarmed him that he hadn’t known before, because a best friend it’s supposed to know that, hell, a friend is supposed to know that. But, then again, Nicholas hadn’t known either, so they could call it even. 

At first, nothing came up, he didn’t have any clue on what he could possibly get him. He didn’t want to be a thing he could give him any other day. He wanted to give Nick something that screamed he knew him. Something that showed he was worth the title they had discussed.

  
  


As a result, he decided to ask their friends for some advice. The first person that had come to his mind was Eugene because, even though last time, he had misled Seiji on why Nicholas was upset, that situation had led to them becoming best friends. 

Eugene's response had been not so helpful at the start. He told Seiji that he should think of things Nicholas loved, like fencing. And yeah that made sense, but that was just too obvious, and it was something that anyone who had the chance to just talk with Nick could give him. 

Besides, there wasn’t much he could give him that was equally good and original with fencing.

Or so he thought.

It surprised him, at first, that such a good idea might come while talking with his father. He had told him he didn’t know what he was going to give Nicholas and that he really wanted to be special. After some really unoriginal and bad ideas, his father said something that sparked _the_ idea. 

“I think that maybe you can try to demonstrate to him that you care about him and that you listen to him”, his father had said, “Something that shows him, you really know him.”

And, just like that, it all clicked. It just was the perfect idea.

So, he started his plan on the perfect birthday present ever for Nicholas. 

First, he asked Bobby what he thought about it. The short boy had looked at him with shock when he asked him to talk alone and then when he heard the plan, his jaw touched the floor. Seiji hadn’t known if it was because it was a really good or a really crazy idea, but shortly after Bobby explained it was the craziest _and_ the best idea ever. 

Then, he told Eugene. Seiji was still a little wary of his plans, but he trusted him, and he needed someone who was his friend to help him. And, _oh,_ Eugene had absolutely loved the idea, he almost started crying thinking about what he supposed was going to be Nicholas' reaction.

Seiji felt pleased with those responses, so he started working on it. He really wanted it to be a surprise, so he did it while he was alone. And it was more difficult than he thought it would be. It was complicated to spend the necessary time with Nicholas to live up to the best friend title and, at the same time, prepare his present.

Sometimes, he had the feeling that Nick was going to find out any minute. Nicholas was a curious kid, but as curious he was, his attention drifted quickly, so if he had suspicions of something going on in a moment, he wasn’t going to ask about it. Or, at least, that’s how it’s been the past few weeks. If he had thought about it or if he had started to theorize about something, he hadn’t said anything, and Seiji was glad. He wasn’t good at lying. He was always the most honest person in a room, even if he didn’t want to, it was something that came natural to him, even if sometimes it hurt people. It wasn’t his intention, he just didn’t know how to speak to people without being blunt. Hence, why he asked Nicholas to help him when they were with their teammates and friends in exchange for helping him with fencing.

He also asked his dad’s help. At the start, he didn’t know how his dad was going to react, but, after all, it was his money he was going to use. But, after explaining why he wanted to give Nicholas that, his father accepted. 

Since the chat he had with his father when he had bought all those watches to pull the prank to those boys that had said offensive things towards Nick, his father had started to reach out more and more. He always asked how he was going and how school was going. He asked about Nicholas, too. Which Seiji found it weird at the start, but he supposed that now that Nick and him were best friends, it was normal. He never had asked about anyone before, not even about Jesse, but after that first call, when all this new relationship with his father started, he realized his father never really liked Jesse. Plus, Jesse had never been his best friend, hell, Seiji never considered him a friend. 

He and Jesse had known each other since they were little. They were always fencing together and to anyone looking, they seemed like childhood friends. Only that they weren’t. Jesse only kept Seiji near him to look better. Seiji was like a shadow behind Jesse, making him shine more, and when he finally had the opportunity to show the world that he could be more than just his shadow, he had lost. It was unfair, It wasn’t like he never had won against Jesse. So, after that, he decided he wasn’t going to stay with Jesse, he was done with being the bad reflection of him. He went to different tournaments and applied to King’s Row, and that’s how he met Nicholas for the first time. 

Since the very first moment he had seen (in Nicholas) something different to any other fencer. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had. He immediately related it to Jesse, his fencing seemed like a terrible copy of Jesse’s, so he proceeded to not treat the guy so kindly. Still, he didn’t understand how after all the things he had said to Nicholas, he didn’t give up on meaning something to him. And when Nick had called him for the first time his friend, he realized he had gotten it all wrong. Yes, his fencing was like Jesse’s, but Nicholas? Nicholas was the complete opposite of him. He looked at Seiji like he was his equal, as a teammate, as a person. And, no, he didn’t mean that they had the same skills, it just meant he looked at him like they both mattered the same, even if he wasn’t good at fencing.

That had made Seiji feel guilty, and he discerned that he was acting the same way Jesse had acted with him. He couldn’t do that. So he tried really hard to be good to Nicholas. And even though he couldn’t keep the honest comments to himself, Nicholas had decided he was worth to call him a best friend.

Yeah, he still couldn’t understand it. 

But he was going to keep trying to be worthy of that label. 

* * *

The day before the big day, he felt really nervous. He knew that Nicholas was going to like the present. But he was still insecure, and it made him snappy. 

You could say that Seiji was always snappy, but when nerves were in the mix it was 10 times worse. And Nick had noticed.

Seiji wasn’t surprised, Nicholas always knew how to read him well, but, _oh man,_ how he wished he didn’t. He couldn’t bear to answer questions nor lie to him. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

After one of their personal practices, they were in their room. Seiji was at the desk they had to share, pretending to be going over his homework, while he checked that he had it all prepared for tomorrow. Nicholas was in his bed looking at the ceiling, while he tossed up and down a tennis ball, making it hit the roof. It was irritating, to say the least and Seiji couldn’t concentrate.

“Can you stop with the fucking ball!” Seiji exclaimed, with annoyance in his tone, making Nicholas startle.

“Woah, Katayama, what’s up with you today?” Nick said, looking at him confused. “You’ve been snappy all day and you had like 0 patience earlier in the salle. What is making you so nervous?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Seiji replied, fidgeting with the pen he had between his fingers, “I’m just really stressed with this homework the literature teacher is making me do. It’s something about analyzing a poem with sentiments in it, clearly not my forte.” 

It wasn’t a complete lie, the teacher had sent that as homework, but he wasn’t stressed over it, not yet anyways. 

“Well, let me help you then,” Nicholas offered, getting out of bed and walking towards him. But before he could see what it was in front of Seiji, he stopped him.

“No!” He said quickly, making Nicholas confused, “I mean, thank you, but I can manage, I think I’m going to leave it for now, and do it when I’m less tired.”

Nicholas looked like he wasn’t sure if he believed him, but at the end, he dropped it and grinned at him. “You are probably right, you need your beauty rest because tomorrow we gotta celebrate and I don’t want you moody on my birthday”

Seiji felt a little twitch on the corners of his lips. They always did that when he saw Nick smile or be playful with him. It was usually accompanied by a weird sensation in his chest. He guessed it was what one was supposed to feel when you saw your best friend. 

_Maybe he should ask someone about it,_ Seiji thought. But he didn’t know who. He guessed that he could ask Harvard or Aiden, they were best friends. Now that he thought about it, Aiden looked at Harvard the same way Nicholas looked at him. Yeah, maybe he could ask him about his friendship with Harvard sometime. 

It was funny because three months ago, he wouldn’t even consider asking Aiden for help. Nor anyone from the squad beside Nicholas or maybe Eugene. And it was all thanks to their Coach. Her bonding exercises, the ones Seiji had thought were absurd, had actually worked. After the first bonfire, they decided to do one once a week. They really had had fun and now they were a real group of teammates, they helped each other, cared for each other, cheered for each other. It was so different from his old life in the team he shared with Jesse. There you were all alone, and Seiji thought for the longest time that was enough. And maybe it was, but he didn’t want to live without his team anymore. He didn’t want to live without Nicholas. 

* * *

The next day Seiji woke up to the sound of his alarm. He rolled over and looked at the other side of the room. There, sleeping, was Nicholas. Even though at first he was reluctant to move the ducks curtain a little, he was glad he did. He often liked to look at Nick’s peaceful sleeping face. His heart squeezed every time he looked at him. And today, it was no different. In fact, his heart squeezed even more at the thought of him giving Nick his present. He really hoped to see the wide smile he loved on his face. The one it went side to side and made crinkles by his eyes and his nose scrunch. It was like he smiled with all parts of his face.

He had seen that smile twice. First, when they announced that he was in the team with Eugene and the second time when they had won the team match against MLC. And he really hoped he was the one to cause the next one. 

He got up and grabbed his phone. All was going according to plan. There, on his screen, was a message from his father, letting him know that it was all ready and according to plan. That caused him to let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

Then, he started his morning routine and went over to the kitchen of the school. After some begging and a good tip, he was able to convince the cook to let him use the kitchen that morning. He had decided he was going to make a birthday cupcake for Nicholas. He thought it was a good way to start with his plan, Nicholas loved baked goods a lot, even if Seiji reminded him that it wasn’t good for his fencing. He didn’t bake anything before, but he concluded that it wouldn’t be that hard if he had the right recipe. He started to look up on the internet, but there were a lot, and he didn’t really trust any of the pages. So, he had decided to ask Eugene. He was the second closest person he had, and he knew Nicholas well too. And that’s how he found himself in the kitchen with Eugene’s mom on the phone, telling him step by step what he had to do. Mrs. Labao was really kind and patient. It made sense, Seiji thought, after all Eugene had a lot of siblings. The recipe wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. If he could compare it to something, baking was like the Épée of the cuisine. It was not like he knew a lot about cooking, but he realized that you needed to be really precise when you measured the ingredients. 

He wondered how much of a mess Nicholas would make while baking. (Probably pretty messy, but it would be fun to watch).

Once he finished doing the cupcake, he started decorating it. He decided he was going to write a “N” in frosting on top of it and put a candle on it. He put it on a plate and started to walk towards their bedroom. 

Nicholas was, like he suspected, still asleep. He was on his side, facing the curtain while cuddling his pillow. He looked rather cute, Seiji decided. Almost too cute to wake him up.

_Almost_

He went over and sat down on the edge of Nicholas' bed. With the lighter he had brought from the kitchen, he lit up the candle. Then, he put his hands on top of Nick’s shoulders and shook him a little while saying “C’mon Nicholas, wake up. It’s your day today!” like a mantra.

After a few minutes, Nicholas' eyes started to open and when he saw Seiji over him, a small smile started to form on his lips. “G’ morning, Seiji”

“Morning, Nicholas,” Seiji said with a soft voice, it surprised him, he didn’t know his voice could sound like that, “Happy birthday.”

And with that, Nicholas' face transformed in a grin. THE grin. Something inside Seiji melted at the sight. 

“Thank you, Seiji.” He replied, starting to sit down in his bed.

“Before you go to do your morning routine,” Seiji started, feeling inexplicably nervous. It wasn’t like he was going to throw the cupcake to his face. He grabbed the cupcake and, carefully, he offered it to Nicholas, “I baked you this, and you need to blow the candle after thinking 3 wishes'' 

At first, Nicholas' face was unreadable, and Seiji was internally panicking. But then, the most soft smile he had ever seen appeared on Nick’s face and his eyes brimmed with tears. He decided, then, that this one was his favorite smile ever. 

“Seiji, I…,“ Nicholas said, speechless, “Thank you, no one has ever made anything like this for me”

The way Nicholas was watching him, made his heart beat a lot faster than he ever knew it was possible. 

“Well,” Seiji said, “It seems like the people in your life don’t deserve you” 

* * *

Because it was Friday, they didn’t have much to do in school. It was mostly teachers giving them homework or revising what they had learned throughout the week. It wasn’t like Seiji hated school, but today was different. He couldn’t wait to hear the bell ring, so they could go to practice. He had asked coach beforehand if they could do a mini competition to celebrate Nicholas' birthday because he really enjoyed it way more than practicing, and she had agreed. 

It was all going according to his plan and he was really thankful. His dad was keeping him updated on how the surprise was going from time to time, and he was making sure all people involved in the plan were doing their part.

Nicholas didn’t seem to suspect anything. In the classes they had together, he was always with a smile on his face and when he looked at Seiji, he could see the softness in them. He probably thought Seiji had only gotten him the cupcake.

And, _oh boy_ , he was so wrong

But, Seiji concluded, that was probably a good thing because it would make the surprise ten times better 

* * *

The last bell finally rang, and he was the first out of the classroom. When he arrived to the backyard of King’s Row he called his dad.

“Hey, kid,” his dad said, “everything is going smoothly over here, just like you like it”

“Afternoon, dad,” Seiji replied, “Thank you for keeping me updated on that, just calling you to let you know that we are going to practice now, so I wanted to make sure everything was going to be ready in, let’s say, three hours?”

“Yeah, Seiji,” His dad confirmed, “We are, probably, going to finish before that.”

“That’s splendid. Thank you again, dad.”

“Don’t worry, son” his dad assured him, “I know how much this boy means to you.”

“Yeah, he is my best friend” Seiji said, like it was obvious.

“Yeah, that’s right, best friend. Well I’m going to keep working on this so we can finish it. Bye, son!”

“Goodbye, dad” Seiji replied, finishing the call. He stared at his phone for a while, thinking how much his relationship with his dad had changed and how thankful he is for that. And in a way, it’s thanks to Nick. He really was making Seiji’s life better.

“Was that your dad?,” a voice from behind him said. A voice that belonged to the boy he was thinking about.

“Oh, hey Nicholas,” Seiji said, startled. How much had he heard?, “Yeah, uh, it was my dad, he just wanted to check on me, and he wanted to know if I had plans for the weekend.” He was getting good at lying.

“Oh,” Nick replied, his eyes dropping to the ground. He looked disappointed, but Seiji didn’t understand why. “Then, I guess you should probably go home today, so you can enjoy your weekend with your family, I can talk to coach if you want to go now, I’m sure she would unders-

“Nicholas,” Seiji cut his rambling, “I told him that it was your birthday and that I was going to go with him tomorrow. There is no way I’m not going to be with you for the rest of your birthday”

And for the second time of the day, he saw his new favorite smile on Nicholas' face. 

* * *

Practice was good. Every time they had practice, Seiji could see how Nicholas was improving on his technique. It has been 4 months since the first moment he decided to help him. 

He remembers how bad Nicholas was at hitting the tennis ball fifty times in a row. But, he also remembers how proud he felt when Nick finally did it. And since then, he kept getting better and better.

He realized that, even though Nicholas fencing was similar to Jesse’s, it had something unique to it. He was more reckless, more carefree, and although that would sometimes be considered a bad thing, it worked. 

It reminded him of the old fencing videos of Robert Coste, Jesse’s dad and the best fencer in the world. 

He always wondered why that was. He thought, maybe, if Nicholas had learned how to fence watching Robert too. Maybe he was a big fan, but it didn’t make sense as to why he didn’t ask Seiji about him. Seiji knew Robert, he liked Robert. When they had reunions with the Costes and all the other families from his old school, he always found himself talking with him. He always had kind words to say about Seiji’s fencing and how he could improve, and Seiji took his advice and applied to his practice. 

Another thing he had noticed was that Nicholas was the happiest he had ever seen him. He didn’t know why, it must be the glow of his birthday. Maybe someone had gotten him something really cool for his birthday. He had a constant smile on his face, and It seemed like when he was in a good mood, he was the best at fencing. 

* * *

  
  


When practice was over, they all went to their respective rooms. 

“Nicholas,” Seiji said, once they had showered, “do you want to have dinner with me and the rest of the team? They said they could meet us there.”

Nicholas looked at him with a small smile and replied, “Yeah, I’d love to”

“Great, so get ready, my father is going to pick us up in a few.”

“Wait,” Nicholas said, “Am I finally going to meet your dad?”

“Yeah, Nicholas,” Seiji answered, “Actually, he insisted on paying for the food and all, he seems to like you for what I told him about you.”

“Oh wow,” Nicholas looked genuinely shocked and Seiji didn’t understand why. It always seemed like he didn’t believe that he was a good person, and it bothered Seiji, he wanted to figure out why. “Then, I’m excited to meet him.”

All was going perfectly and Seiji could feel his heart beating fast on his chest. He really hoped Nicholas liked his present.

  
  


* * *

It was 6 o’clock when he received his father's message that he was waiting for them in the car. 

It was finally time, and he was really glad that all was going well. But, he was worried about the only thing he couldn’t control: The way Nicholas was going to respond.

“Seiji, are you okay?” Nick’s voice said from his bed where he was scrolling through his phone, “You look stressed.”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine, you don’t need to worry,” Seiji replied quickly, he wasn’t being as subtle as he thought. “My father just messaged me saying he is outside, so we better get going.”

Nicholas smiled then and got up, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m really excited to meet your dad”

He really needed to figure out why his heart made these little flutters when Nick did or said something he appreciated or liked. 

Once they were outside, he spotted his father’s car on the door. Seiji put his hand on the back of Nicholas' waist and led him to the car. He could be fooled, because it was dark, but he could swear Nicholas cheeks were a little red. He didn’t know why though.

“Good night, you two,” His dad said once they arrived at his car, and then he focused on Nicholas, “You must be the birthday boy, Nicholas, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Katayama, I’m Nicholas,” Nick said. It was probably the most polite form Seiji had ever seen him.

“Oh, please, you can call me Kane,” His father said. It surprised Seiji, his dad never insisted on being called by his first name to new people. But, he guessed, that it was okay because Nicholas was his best friend, “Happy birthday, by the way. It’s so nice to meet you, Seiji told me a lot about you.” 

Suddenly, Seiji could feel warmth in his face. And he glared at his dad. Not because he was embarrassed that he had talked about Nicholas with his dad (Although his cheeks were saying otherwise), but because he didn’t want his dad to spoil the surprise.

However, when he looked back at Nicholas, he could see a matching red on his cheeks and a shy smile as well.

Today was the day to discover his new favorite expressions in the boy’s face.

“I hope it was all good things?” Nicholas says, cautiously, almost afraid of the answer. Which Seiji found ridiculous, but before he could answer his father spoke,

“Of course, I’ve never heard Seiji talk so well of a person like he does about you.”

He really needed to find a way to control the blush in his cheeks. (And for what he could see, Nicholas too).

* * *

The drive to the grand surprise was very pleasant.

He was afraid that Nicholas was going to realize that they weren’t going to the town near King’s Row where all the restaurants and markets were, but it seemed like he didn’t. 

His father and Nick talked all the way there. They tried to include Seiji to the conversation, but Seiji had no interest in being in it. He really enjoyed watching them interact, and he liked the fact that they got along well. 

Once they arrived at the place, Nicholas looked around confused. 

“I don’t want to be rude, but where the hell are we?” He whispered to Seiji. 

“A surprise,” Seiji replied, “and before we enter, I need you to close your eyes.”

Nicholas looked at him with disbelief and hesitation, “Okay, I’m really confused, but I trust you.”

After Nicholas closed his eyes, Seiji put a hand on his forearm and led him inside, his father walking behind them.

Seiji could feel his heart beating really fast, suddenly panicking a little. He was afraid of the reaction Nick was going to have. But what has been done, can’t be undone, so he pushed the fear aside.

When they arrived at the spot he wanted Nick to be, he whispered in his ear: “You can open your eyes now.”

Nicholas' eyes opened and when he saw his present, his eyes widened twice their size. Seiji was looking at him attentively, he wanted to make sure he hadn’t messed up this. But then Nicholas’ eyes brimmed with tears.

“Is this too much? Oh my god you don’t like it do you? I knew I was not going-“

Before he could finish his sentence, two warm lips were pressed against his. And it was the best feeling in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's day! Here is a little present for you all!
> 
> First, I would like to thank all the kudos, comments and bookmarks I received, they truly warm my heart!
> 
> Second of all, I forgot to say it in the last chapter but I choose what I want from canon so it fits my story.

**Chapter 2**

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

Nicholas thought again and again as he pressed his lips to Seiji’s.

He felt like fireworks were exploding inside him.

Seiji had gotten him his own salle. (Well technically, as Seiji had explained later on, he had bought a salle and it was going to be under his name but he was not going to be the one responsible for it. He got to pick who was going to be in charge and he, obviously, chose Joe). He couldn’t believe it yet. He didn’t think he was ever going to fully believe it either. 

And there was also the fact that he was kissing Seiji. 

It was no mystery that he liked Seiji, everyone could see it (well, everyone but Seiji). And now they were kissing.

He didn’t recall when exactly he started liking Seiji. When the feelings of rivalry and friendship turned to liking and wanting. At first, when he started to notice the change, he didn’t want to admit it. He would claim that his feelings were just admiration for him because of his fencing. But that didn’t justify the butterflies he felt when they were sitting next to each other, or when Seiji would stand close to him in their personal lessons. (Nor the cold showers he had to take after them).

Nonetheless, he kept denying it. Or well, he denied it until Bobby called him out on it.

They were in the gym one morning. It was a Saturday and they were on a mini break from fencing. Since that day after the tournament to enter the team, he and Bobby had started to go to the salle on the weekends, the same as Seiji had. The only difference was that Seiji had his personal trainer, Dmytro. 

He was looking at Seiji (like most of the time) from the bench while he sipped water, when Bobby approached him. 

“You know, you look more in love with Seiji than I did when I first met you,” He had said. 

“Wha- What are you,” Nicholas had tried to lie, but he could see that Bobby wasn’t going to believe another thing, “Fine, you are right. I think I like Seiji.”

Bobby’s face had broken out in a grin, “I called it, Tanner owes me twenty bucks.”

Nicholas' mouth had fallen open, “I can’t believe you bet with Tanner about this.”

“Well, I needed the money to buy Dante a new cooking set. Plus I knew I was right, why not try to gain something with my splendid knowledge.” Bobby had said, smiling at him. 

“Okay, fine,” Nicholas had replied, trying to not smile back, “Why did Tanner bet against you, anyway, if it was so obvious I liked him.”

“Because Tanner can’t seem to accept someone actually liking Seiji, because he thinks Seiji is a self-centered prick,” Bobby had said, rolling his eyes. 

“That makes sense,” Nicholas had nodded.

Bobby had looked at him like he was expecting for him to say something else.

“What?”

“Just wondering what are you going to do with the new found feelings for him?” He said.

“Nothing,” Nicholas said, looking back at the boy in question, “It’s not like he would like me of all people. Plus, my relationships never work.”

And he hadn’t had any plans on changing that. Until now. 

Now he had kissed Seiji.

When he pulled away, he could see that Seiji's eyes were still closed, but as he realized what had just happened, he opened them fast, in shock.

Nicholas opened his mouth to say something, but before he could emit a sound, the doors to the salle opened.

Walking towards them were their teammates and friends, Joe and his mom. Nicholas’ eyes brimmed with tears and he looked back at Seiji. He was a little tense and seemed confused, but then Nick smiled at him softly and he relaxed.

“Oh, man, I still can’t believe that Seiji gave you this,” Eugene said with a big grin, while he hugged Nicholas, “I still think he is crazy, but you deserve it, Nick.”

“Thank you, Gene,” He replied. 

After hugging Eugene, his mom stood in front of him, with tears in her eyes.

“Hey mom,” He said with a small smile. His relationship with his mom wasn’t the best, she wasn’t really good at parental stuff, but he knew that she loved him and he loved her.

“Happy birthday, Nick,” she replied, bringing him for a hug, “Your boyfriend really went all out for you, huh?”

“Oh no, he is not my boyfriend,” Nicholas said quickly. Then looking at Seiji, he added, “Seiji is… my best friend.”

“Oh, wow,” his mom said, looking between them, “When are you going to ask him out, then?”

Nicholas looked at her dumbfounded but before he could reply he felt a tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around, Joe was looking at him with a smile on his face. 

He always thought of Joe as a paternal figure for him. (He was the closest thing to a dad he had, after all.)

“Happy Birthday, boy!” Joe exclaimed, hugging him and patting him on the back, “That Seiji boy really insisted on me being here and now that I see all this I’m really glad I could come.”

A warmth spread on his chest. Not only because of the old man in front of him, also because Seiji had asked all the people he cared about to come here for his birthday. He always wondered if Seiji listened to him or if he just ignored it and pretended. But now, he realized that it wasn't the latter.

He had never had a friend like Seiji. Sure, he had “friends”, those kind of friends that you sit next to at school events and share a laugh once in a while, but they don’t really know things about you or your homelife. The ones you feel comfortable enough to stay silent next to them but not comfortable enough to be vulnerable.

But Seiji wasn’t like that. He trusted Seiji with everything. And even if he hadn’t told him about who his father is, it wasn’t because he didn’t trust him with the secret per se. He was just afraid of how Seiji was going to look at him after he knew that Robert Coste was his dad. Especially after what went down in the supply room earlier that year. 

He could admit now, that he felt a tiny bit jealous in that moment, because he realized how much Jesse meant to Seiji. But that wasn’t all the cause of his anger. He was upset about the idea Seiji had, that he had something of Jesse in him, too. Because he deserved to have some of his own merit in the way he fenced. He hadn’t gotten anything from his dad’s family, his daily life was a reminder of that. So, he didn’t want the thing he loved to be part of people he didn’t know. He wanted to be his own thing. He wanted for people to recognize his hard work. Nicholas understood that at some level, some genetics was on his facility to fence. And in some way, he started fencing because his biological father was the best in it. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t worked hard for it. 

So, no, Nicholas didn’t want Seiji to know that. Not yet, anyway. 

After Joe finished wishing him happy birthday, he found himself wrapped up in a big hug from his friends. 

“Nicholas, happy fucking birthday,” Tanner said, “I never thought I would see the day Seiji was going to demonstrate that he cares for people, but here we are.”

Nicholas rolled his eyes, “Thank you, guys, for being here.”

“We wouldn’t miss it, you are our friend,” Hardvard assured him with a smile. 

“Plus, I think Seiji would have murdered us if we didn’t show up,” Aiden added.

Nicholas looked at him and could see a knowing smile on his face. 

Well, it seemed that the kiss wasn’t just his imagination.

  
  


* * *

The night was perfect, one of the best nights he had ever had and he will forever treasure it. He chatted with Joe, his mom, his friends and even with Seiji’s dad. They ate different kinds of foods and the night finished with Nicholas blowing off the candles. 

This was, without a doubt, the best birthday he had ever had. And it was all thanks to Seiji.

Back in their room, Nicholas was laying in bed looking at the ceiling, while Seiji prepared himself for bed. They hadn’t really talked after the kiss. Yeah, there was the small talk when Kane was driving them back to King’s Row and the glances across the room. 

He couldn’t read what Seiji was feeling, but he knew it wasn’t anger or disgust, and that was enough for him. He knew he needed to talk to him about it soon though, at least to find out what he thought about it.

But not tonight, he didn’t want to bring possible heartbreak to this day. 

When Seiji got out of the bathroom, he laid down on bed, without pulling the ducks curtain. It wasn’t something that went unnoticed by Nick, but he preferred to not push his luck commenting about it. 

“I hope you had a good night, Nicholas,” Seiji said, turning his head to look at him.

Nick looked back and smiled at him, “It was probably the best night in a long time,” _or ever_ , “I truly don’t know how to thank you, no one has ever cared enough to do that.”

“That’s stupid of them,” Seiji replied, “You deserve the world, and as your best friend, I plan of giving it to you.”

Right, as a best friend.

“Still, Seiji,” Nicholas said, “I can’t even comprehend how you bought me literally a salle and invited all the important people in my life. How did you even get my mom’s and coach’s number, anyway.”

Seiji’s face went red, “I may or may not have tipped the assistent in the hall to give me the person you had as your emergency contact, because I assumed it was either your mom or your coach, and when your mom answered I asked for Joe’s number too.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you broke the rules for me,” Nicholas said with a grin, while Seiji rolled his eyes.

“It was worth it,” Seiji replied, “Your happiness it’s worth it.”

He could swear his heartbeats could be heard across King Row’s.

  
  


* * *

  
  


The next day, he woke up to the sound of his alarm. Even though it was the weekend, he liked to train in the mornings in the salle. Plus it was a good opportunity to spend time with Seiji. 

Well, look at Seiji from afar, technically.

Since he started training on Saturdays’ mornings and Wednesday after class with Seiji, his technique had improved a lot. He wasn’t making the same basic mistakes. 

The first one to notice this was Seiji. He had stopped Nicholas, one time, in the middle of practice to tell him that he wasn’t tensing his shoulders anymore. It had made his day.

He got up and he turned to Seiji’s side, he realized it wasn’t empty like he expected. It was weird, Seiji never skipped practice. Even more when it was with Dmytro.

He went slowly to Seiji’s bed and tried to wake him up.

“Hey, Seiji,” Nicholas tried, “C’mon, bud, wake up.”

Slowly, Seiji stirred, opening his eyes a little. When he looked at Nicholas, his mouth made a tiny twitch, “Morning, Nicholas, what’s the matter?”

“Aren’t you going to practice today?” Nick asked, confused, “Did you forget to put your alarm? Dmytro is going to kill you.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you,” Seiji said, his face becoming a little res, “I canceled my practice for today last week because I wasn’t sure how late we were going to stay at your party and I wanted to go to the fair with you and the team today, didn’t Aiden mentioned it to you?”

“He may have mentioned it, but he talks way too much,” Nicholas said, trying to recall his last conversations with Aiden. They weren’t like before, when he blocked whatever Aiden said, since the bonfire Coach had organized, he started to like Aiden more. He could consider him a friend. But sometimes he fell into old habits.

“Well, if you don’t want to go that’s okay,” Seiji said, “I wanted to be well rested to enjoy it completely.”

“No, no, I want to go,” Nicholas rushed to say, “and I sure as hell enjoy a few more hours of sleep.”

“Okay, then,” Seiji replied with a smile, “I have an alarm scheduled so we are not late, I will wake you up.”

“Okay. Thank you, Seiji.” Nicholas thanked him, going back to bed. 

This weekend kept getting better.}

  
  


* * *

  
  


He felt two hands on his shoulder before he opened his eyes. 

“Nick, we have to go,” He could hear someone try to wake him up.

“Come on Nicholas, we are going to be late. Harvard and Aiden are waiting for us,” Now he could tell it was Seiji talking to him.

Nicholas opened his eyes and found Seiji’s face in front of his. _Wouldn’t it be great if I pressed my lips against his again,_ he let his brain wonder before he stopped. He didn’t want to be disappointed today. 

“G’morning Seiji,” Nicholas said, “again.”

“Good morning, again,” Seiji said with a small smile in his lips, “Now, get ready because we leave in 10 minutes. Harvard and Aiden will meet us in the entrance.”

“Okay,” Nicholas replied, “Wait, only Harvard and Aiden? What happened to the rest?”

“Eugene said he had other plans with his ‘weight-lifting bros’,” Seiji explained, “and Bobby, Dante, Kally and Tanner said they had to study for Math or something like that.”

“Then it’s the four of us?” _Like a double date,_ Nicholas thought.

“Yeah, it seems like it.” Seiji said.

This would be really interesting.

* * *

Like Seiji had said, Aiden and Hardvard were waiting for them at the door. They were smiling at each other while they talked. 

Nicholas always found their relationship interesting. The first time he saw them together, he could’ve sworn that they were an actual couple. The way they looked at each other it was more than just friends. 

But then he met Aiden and Harvard more, and even though he realized that they were just best friends, he could still see the love they had for each other. In the start, he didn’t understand why someone like Hardvard would love and like someone like Aiden, because all he knew about Aiden was that he was a playboy that didn’t care about other people’s feelings. And it wasn’t like he was wrong, but he was looking at Aiden like he was a 2D person, when it was more complicated than that. Plus, he could see that Aiden genuinely cared about Harvard, and he was one of the most important people in his life.

They stopped when they reached them and Harvard was the first to greet them, “Hey, guys! I’m so glad you two could make it.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for anything!” Nicholas said, patting Harvard on the shoulder.

“Yeah, well, you are ten minutes late, where were you? In the locker room?” Aiden teased. 

Since the day Aiden caught them fighting he’s been teasing them about it. And now that he saw them kissing, Nicholas had no doubt that he was going to do it even more. 

“Of course not,” Seiji said, “we don’t do that anymore.”

Sometimes, Nicholas didn’t know if Seiji didn’t understand Aiden’s humor or if he tried to follow his jokes.

Harvard cleared his throat, “Well, let’s go!”

* * *

Once they arrived at the fair, they went directly to the food trucks. It was lunch time, and they hadn’t had breakfast. 

The day was perfect, it was sunny but not hot and you could enjoy the slow breeze. This was Nicholas’ favorite type of weather. It made him think about the good moments he had when he was little. They weren’t a lot and when he was older they became less frequent, but he treasured them in his heart.

If there was one world he could describe his childhood was bittersweet. Looking back, every moment he could remember he was the happiest child, he realized the circumstances he was in and that no child should be. Like, when he couldn’t go to school because his mom couldn’t pay for the bus, and he, like any other kid, had been happy that he had a free day, but now he understood and the memory turned bittersweet. 

When they decided in which place to order, Nicholas ordered a hamburger and a portion of fries. He looked at Seiji, waiting for a comment about his diet, but he didn’t get one in return. 

“So, how did you like your birthday yesterday, Nick?” asked Harvard, once they were sitting at a table. 

“It was the best birthday I’ve ever had,” replied Nicholas, sincerely. He could bet that Seiji’s cheeks had turned pink. “I’ve never really celebrated my birthday, and what Seiji did yesterday was way more than I have ever imagined.”

“I’m going to say that we were surprised yesterday,” said Aiden, looking at Nicholas. The double meaning wasn’t unnoticed by the boy. “You almost beat Harvard in the best gift.”

Seiji looked offended, “Which is?”

“Harvard Paw,” Aiden simply said, making Harvard blush next to him.

“Don’t worry, Seiji,” Nicholas put his hand on his forearm, “For me, it was the best present ever.”

Seiji looked at him with that little twitch in his lips. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he sometimes wondered if that expression was only reserved for him. 

“I just wanted Nicholas to know how much I care about him.” Seiji said. 

That made his heart beat a lot faster.

* * *

After they finished lunch, Harvard proposed to play a game between the four of them. Seiji and Nicholas were one team and Aiden and him were the other team. 

Unsurprisingly, the game turned into a competition -Nicholas would call it a war-, after all they all were competitive. Each of them in unique ways.

Harvard was competitive in the sense that he didn’t like to make his team lose and fail them (in this case Aiden, which you could consider that it made him be even more competitive)

Aiden was competitive in an arrogant way. He pretended to not care about the competition and wanted you to believe that he was above it all, but he didn’t like losing.

Seiji was competitive because he couldn’t bear the thought of someone winning against him. He wanted to be first and perfect in everything and fair games weren’t an exception. 

You could say that Nicholas was the same way as Seiji, and to a certain point it was true. The difference was that Nicholas understood that losing didn’t make him less of a person or less good at something. He understood that he couldn’t be perfect at everything all the time, and he was okay with that. Sure, he got mad, especially if it was with something he loved like fencing, but he tried to not let it bruise his ego.

This made the game a chaotic competition and depends on who you ask, a fun one. And Nicholas had never enjoyed so much going out with friends. 

They started at the Basketball game, Nicholas liked to brag he was good at it, after all it was one of the few sports he had in his old school, but Seiji wasn’t that good, he blamed the ball claiming it was too big. 

They lost that one for a few points, Aiden and Harvard were good at the game, and Nicholas suspected that it was because they came often, or well more often than him and Seiji because they were freshmans.

Then they decided to go to the scam-games as Nicholas called them, to try and win something. 

First was Harvard, who almost won, but when he needed one more point he didn’t score. Aiden, on the other hand, didn’t even try, underestimating the difficulty of the game. 

When it was Seiji’s turn, he looked so concentrated that Nicholas knew he was going to win something before he even threw the ball. And he was right.

After Seiji scored his last ring, he looked at Nicholas and then asked for the yellow duck plush. Honestly, Nicholas didn’t want to read much into it but it was really hard, more so because the feelings he felt clouded his thoughts. And when his turn came he was too distracted to win.

* * *

Later that afternoon, they found themselves at another table while they ate snacks. Succeeding to many games, they decided to take a break and enjoy the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing all together.

Nicholas felt so much peace in that moment. He looked around him at his friends and saw his smiles while they talked about random things. He realized, then, that going to King’s Row was the best decision he had made. 

It was funny because one of the things he wanted to do in this school was fence against Seiji who he supposed was going to be in Exton. But now he found himself calling him his best friend and having feelings for him. And kissing him.

As much as he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss. Every time he looked at Seiji his brain went directly to the kiss and the unreadable expression he had afterwards. He knew he should talk about it with Seiji, but he was afraid of rejection and he preferred to enjoy their friendship a little bit longer.

It was getting late, so they decided to finish their food and start heading back to school.

“Before we go, I need to go to the bathroom,” Seiji said, “Someone could show me the way?”

Before anyone could say something, Aiden talked.

“Harvard, why don’t you show Seiji the way to the bathroom while Nicholas and I wait here for you two?”

Harvard looked at him confused but he looked at Seiji and they started walking to the bathroom.

Nicholas suspected why Aiden said that, and he was right.

“How are things with Seiji?” Aiden asked him with a smirk.

“Look, man, I know that you saw us kissing on my birthday but there is nothing more than friendship between Seiji and I,” replied Nick.

“I guess you are right, because I can see that you didn’t talk about it,” Aiden said, “but I know you don’t want only friendship.”

“How do you even know that? You are a cool guy Aiden and I consider you a friend, but you don’t really know me.” 

“I don’t need to know a person to identify the same feeling I have.”

Before Nicholas could respond, Seiji and Harvard came back.

“I hope we didn’t make you two wait long,” said Harvard once they arrived next to them.

“Oh, don’t you worry H,” Aiden assured him and then looking directly at Nick, “We were having a lovely conversation.”

Not acknowledging Aiden, Nicholas spoke, “I think we all should start heading back to the rooms.”

They all agreed and started the walk back to King’s Row.

* * *

Later, that night, as Nicholas laid in his bed looking at the ceiling, his mind went to what Aiden had said. And the pain he could decipher in the phrase. 

But he didn’t understand Aiden. Because for him, Harvard was equally in love with Aiden, it was impossible to miss it. And if he could see the way Nick felt for Seiji, then he couldn’t not see the way Harvard felt about him.

But then again, when one is in love, your brain tricks you to think that the other doesn’t want you while simultaneously making you hopeful. 

He wondered if that could apply to his relationship with Seiji.

_No._ He thought to himself, before turning sideways and cuddling his pillow. _There was no way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter! Comments are appreciated <3

**Author's Note:**

> tumble me: @nicholastechnique


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